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I am probably just going to stop apologizing for long distances between posts. School started, my schedule has been crazy y’all.

ANYWAY.

If you are a fan of running, then you’ve probably heard of Derek Rubis. If you’ve never heard of him well then I can only think of two reasons why,
1.) You’re probably not fast enough to have the honor of being Rubisized (Most of us aren’t, it’s ok)
2.) You live under a rock.

For both those who know of the man and those who don’t, here’s an opportunity to learn a little more about him. He’s without a doubt the biggest track and field fan in the US of A. This guy loves track more than Snooki loves alcohol. And that’s saying a lot.

BADASS MOHAWK, BRO

Fans like this are vital to our sport. Now some may think it’s weird to be so obsessed with this sport, and may find the “Face in Hole” pictures to be a little odd as well. Well, “Haters Gone Hate”. The act of getting a “Face in Hole” picture has become an official verb in our running world, getting “Rubisized”. It’s usually quite an honor to make this list as it signifies that you are an elite runner. Scrubs don’t make this list (Although I admit my finally making it was due to my interviewing him 🙂 ) Little note- this is not intended to be sarcastic or poking fun at anybody, this is a real interview with a pretty big figure in the track world. Thanks for letting me do this interview Derek I appreciate it!

Derek Rubis + Zach Ornelas = Derek Ornelas. RUBISIZED

So tell me, Derek, how did you get into running? Did it start when you were young? How long have you been running and following the sport?

I got into the sport cause I couldn’t do contact sports and I started in the 6th grade for the 6th grade run. I have been running for about 20 years from 6th grade to now and I really started following the sport when I was a freshman in high school.

I think more than a few of us started this sport due to the inability to play contact sports man, we feel ya.

Sick Nike Kit, Derek.

Why do you love running? A lot of non-runners look at our sport and think we are crazy, what is it that gives you such passion for our sport?

I love distance running cause it a sport that not a of people can do and not a lot people follow. My passion for this sport is cause we are an underdog sport that is trying to make a name for itself

Damn Derek, you've been hitting the weights recently huh?

What are your current PR’s and do you have any PR goals for this upcoming year?
3K-11:45, 5K-19:30, 8K (XC)-34:00, 10K-42:20. My PR goals for the upcoming year is just better my prs in XC and when track comes I want to get in between 40-41 minutes for the 10K.

Wisconsin's Finest.

Who is your favorite professional or collegiate runner and why?
In the Professional Distance World I have two Chris Solinsky & Nick Willis cause of dedication and hard work to this sport. For Collegiate Runners I have three and they are all on the same college team Maverick Darling, Reed Connor & Drew Shields for dedication, hard work & they care about their team as a whole and they care about their sport.

Derek Rubis pick/pic of the year, Wisco takes the crown

Now here’s the important part, not too many xc predictions have been made online yet, what do you think the top 5 teams will be for NCAA Division 1 cross country this year?

Wisconsin, Stanford, Oregon, Indiana, & Oklahoma State.

You heard it here first, folks. Wisconsin ftw?

Derek picks Derrick.

Who do you think the individual champion will be?

I think the individual champion will be Chris Derrick with Drew Shields, Maverick Darling & Reed Connor in the top 4.

If your prediction is correct, Wisco will score a scary, scary low score at nats..

D-Rube rolls deep.

Would you like to give any shout outs to good friends or some of your homeboys in Wisconsin?

I would like to give a shout out to Chris Derrick, J.T. Sullivan, Dylan Ferris who I call the Stanford Three & to Maverick Darling, Drew Shields, Reed Connor & Mike Brice who I call the Wisconsin Four.